Spray booms for agricultural usage provide a great convenience to farmers and others seeking to spray liquid chemicals in agricultural operations. Such spray booms typically have large numbers of laterally-spaced spray nozzles each of which discharge an atomized liquid spray onto the agricultural crop. Over time, the operation and performance of the nozzles of the spray apparatus can become faulty, through partial or complete blockage of flow passages, wear of the nozzle parts, or damage, resulting in uneven or ineffective application of the chemical. In addition, the operator may be unaware of the faulty spray performance at the time of application and have difficulty in going back to spot treat problem areas if the fault is later discovered. Re-application of the chemical, of course, is time-consuming and costly. In addition, damage to the spray nozzles could result in excessive application of the chemical, causing complete destruction of the crop. Moreover, in modern farm operation, it sometimes is critical that the proper amount of chemical is sprayed at the time of application. Chemical sterilization of corn to provide de-tasseled rows requires certainty that the proper application is applied at the time of spraying. Improper or misapplication can damage surrounding areas of the crop as well.
Hence, there is a great need for a system for reliably monitoring spray performance and alerting the operator of faulty operation of spray nozzles of a spraying apparatus in real time. While different technologies have attempted to determine when a spray tip is plugged or worn, these systems have not been reliable in meeting the needs of operators seeking to monitor clogging or malfunction of selected spray nozzles of a spray boom sufficient to minimize the necessity for large-scale reapplication of chemicals or damage to crops.